Arthur Pendragon and the charms exams
by CarryLovesCurry
Summary: Arthur fails his charms O.W.L exams and Merlin seeks for a way to comfort him. I wrote this for a friend, who was sad about her exams and yeah.


Merlin was anxiously leaning against a wall. The wall next to the doors of the Great Hall, to be precise. He had just finished his practical O.W.L. exams in charms (Taking an egg cup and making it do some cartwheels was not rocket-science) and he was now waiting for his best friend and fellow class mate Arthur to be finished as well.

The doors finally opened with a loud creaking noise and Arthur stepped out, head hung low. If Merlin hadn't stopped him he'd probably just walked past him. „How did it go?", he asked, though the expressions in Arthurs face was telling enough. _He_ had managed to have the ministry magician, who had taken his exam, use words like „magnificent!" and „brilliant!" and had earned a straight Outstanding. He _was_ Merlin Emrys, best of his year, after all. But for Arthur it didn't seem to have gone so well, not at all in fact. „Why do you even ask Merlin? I got a P and will probably fail the whole class this year. I can already hear my dad boiling over with anger." He sighed dramatically and if it hadn't been so serious, Merlin would have teased his best friend, but now wasn't the best time for that. He felt bad for Arthur and he wished he could do something to wipe that gloomy expression from his face. Suddenly he had an idea. He flung an arm around Arthurs shoulders and dragged him with him down the corridor, much to Arthurs displeasure. „WHAT ARE YOU DOING MERLIN?", he shouted angrily and tried to get out of Merlins grip. Fortunately he was build much stronger than the Slytherin and managed to get free easily. „Shhh, just follow me. I've got to show you something!", Merlin lifted a tapestry and slipped behind it. Arthur followed, wary of what Merlin was up to. Behind the tapetry was a narrow corridor, leading down, probably towards the dungeons.

It got darker and darker, as they walked down the corridor and Merlin could have just ignited his wand, but he opted for taking Arthurs hand instead, leading him around a corner after corner. Arthur said nothing. It was nothing new to him, that Merlin was a bit feely-touchy now and then, but they hadn't hold hands before and he wasn't sure how he was feeling about that. Not that he was opposed to it. Holding Merlins hand, felt rather nice. He could feel a low hum of magic crackling between their fingers. It was comforting in a way.

Abruptly Merlin stopped. They had arrived in a small rounded room. A torch was burning on the wall next to them and Arthur could see some hay on the ground. Something moved in a dark corner of the room and Arthur most definitely didn't flinch at that. „It's alright", said Merlin, giving Arthurs hand a gentle squeeze. „_Aithusa!__"__, he said. Arthur furrowed his brows in confusion._

_Something moved again and a white claw came into the light, followed by a white head with steely blue eyes. Arthur gasped. „It's a dragon! How can you have a dragon in Hogwarts?", asked Arthur in awe. Merlin grinned and patted Aithusas head affectionately. I found his egg a while ago and I decided to raise it here. "It's a secret of course, so you can't tell anyone!" Arthur nodded, still not taking his eyes off Aithusa. He had always loved dragons. The crest of his family bore a dragon and as a little boy he had always dreamed of seeing one, but his father had never bothered to take him to see one. _

_"__Come on, you can get closer. Don't be afraid", said Merlin, took Arthur at the wrist and pulled him towards the white dragon. Aithusa hissed at them at first. __"__It's alright. He's a friend__"__, said Merlin and Aithusa calmed down. Ever so carefully, Arthur lay a hand on the dragons head. Aithusa made a noise, somewhere between a growl and a gentle purr. Arthur smiled and stroked his head a bit more, before turning back to Merlin. Pure wonder was written on his face and Merlin was happy to see that the frown from before had disappeared completely. _

_Arthur didn't really know what to say to express his gratefulness towards Merlin, so he just pulled him into an embrace, hiding his burning face in the Slytherins neck. Merlin was taken aback by this sudden outburst of affection, since Arthur was usually complaining about Merlin getting into his personal space more than often. Smiling he wrapped his arms around Arthur, loving every second he could spend in close proximity to the other. Maybe one day he would tell Arthur about his feelings for him. But today was not this day. He was just happy, that he had managed to comfort Arthur, even if it was in a very unconventional way._


End file.
